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322nd Marine Division
" In half an hour I can put together a strike team of twenty soldiers, capable of succeeding at any mission, under any circumstances, anywhere in the galaxy. " :- General Crix Madine History Birth of the 322nd Marine Division The Plan The 322nd Marine Corp. was not an 'ancient', legendary league of troopers like the 501st (not during the SIRR era, at least), but they didn't need to be. They found their start during an insurgence of Sith attacks on the Republic territory of Bespin as a newly formed group of troops from various other marine and army forces, as well as a few naval pilots. The idea behind the 322nd was to launch these untrained numbers at the enemy and provide cover for the Jedi forces who volunteered to enter through a recently discovered weakness in the Sith Empire's flagship. However, the closer the day drew to the battle, fewer and fewer 322nd troops remained- They either went AWOL, or died during small skirmishes as tensions rose. Eventually, only 4 troopers remained- Orphas 'Breach' James, transferred from the Republic Navy to the 322nd. He specialized in light weapons and a natural skill with entering and clearing a room. Aloysius 'Alo' Sprague, the tactical engineer of the group, proficient in laying down various technological 'help' from Republic Command and repairing various items. James 'Rook' Eros, often noted as the crazy member of the group, was the only one of them to carry heavy explosives into the Tibanna gas platforms... The heavily flammable and hazardous Tibanna gas platforms. And finally, Sajinn Mass'ii. The only member of the team without a self-proclaimed nickname, though Eros had some obsession with referring to him as 'Boss,' even though all the squadmates were at the same rank. He was the marksman- He could aim, fire, and dodge a blast all in one swift motion, and had possibly the best eyesight out of the four. He also had a stern demeanor which commanded respect, so while none of the teammates were a higher rank than another, he assumed the unofficial 'leader' role. Several hours before the assault on the Sith flagship, the Jedi assault force and these four troops convened to work out the plan. Mass'ii took point, walking the Force Sensitives through it step by step, meticulously going over each objective and sub-objective, so that nothing was screwed up on either end. The Jedi Knight leading the force slowly realized, however, that the four lone men in front of them were going to give their lives knowingly, just so the three Jedi could perform the action they were ordered to. When he brought this up, the four Republic troopers all looked at him at once, and each one gave a small twitch of humour. As if, in a few hours, they wouldn't all be dead. They wouldn't have given their lives to preserve floating platforms of durasteel and Tibanna gas. The Execution Were they watching the tracking devices on their troopers, the Sith leaders would see the bright dots dropping lifeless all over the board. The 322nd squad had used the battle overhead, initialized by Republic Command, to give them the cover needed to infiltrate a key communications array on the planet of Bespin. They struck hard and quickly- When the transport was in range, Mass'ii fired three shots in quick succession, cutting down the Imperial lookouts. They dropped down one by one, with 'Breach' leading at the front, 'Alo' following up right behind, 'Boss' third in line, scoping the area through his Disruptor, and 'Rook' covering the rear, which would be his location in their line up during tactical situations far into the future, though none of them ever really figured out why. Their equipment was sub-par at best- 'Breach' was equipped with a basic Clone Rifle, though he quickly replaced that for a dropped high-class Imperial E-11. 'Alo' had on him the bare minimum of defensive devices from Command, and a secondary pistol.'Boss' was possibly the best equipped of the bunch, boasting a high-powered Disruptor rifle. 'Rook,' on the other hand... Well, he had a blaster pistol, but when asked what was in the duffel bag he had slung around his back, all he did was chuckle quite sadistically into the communicator. Getting in was easy enough with Mass'ii's sniper fire and Orphas' constant surpressive fire on close enemies. Sprague kept his allies covered with liberal use of a portable force field emplacement unit, and Eros... Well, Eros fired off blasts and took down a few troops, but he seemed to duck and dive more than anything, being extremely careful when it came to the duffel bag on his back. When questioned after the firefight, 'Rook' responded simply with "Wait and see, Boss. It'll be beautiful. Trust me." Needless to say, the other three squad members became a little more worried about the mental state of their compatriot. As uncertain as they were of each other, their teamwork was astounding. Their reactions to each others warnings, their notes of interesting items and possible cover, their opinions and ideas of possible entries and clearing maneuvers all went around and ended up with the best possible scenario. Eventually, they reached the control hub of the communications array, clearing the room out entirely. They blasted the control panels apart, shutting down any comm. attempts to or away from the Sith flagship. They called in their success to Command, and the Jedi were sent off. Suddenly, just as expected, an entire battalion of Sith troops burst through the door, rifles and weapons raised at the four lone troopers. This was part of the plan- Draw their best squads away from the protection of the Sith fleet and give the Jedi ample ability to capture or kill the Sith Lord on board the ship. Three of the squad raised their weapons, ready to go down blasting. One of them, however, had other ideas. He started talking, quite loudly, about how flammable Tibanna gas is. And how, luckily, none of the weapons either side was equipped with could possibly penetrate the durasteel lining of the gas containers. The three blaster-raised squad-mates turned to Eros 'Rook' James as he then, in a flash, spun around and flipped open the duffel bag. All manner of high powered explosives rolled or slid out, and the pristine floors of the array caused them to slide directly under the Sith troops. Now, high powered explosives are dangerous things. They could blow a hole in a Destroyer-class starship. The effects on a Tibanna gas platform were unmistakably catastrophic. And yet, just as the pyromaniac had planned, the Sith troops tried running. He hit the detonator, and suddenly, the world seemed to go silent for everyone on the platform. The troops outside were vaporized instantly, everything around them bursting into combustion. However, once the explosion pierced the lining of the gas canisters, the small building the 322nd troops were in sealed off completely, shutting out all light and sound from outside. It seemed the array had been set up to withstand explosions, just in case of such an event. It was safe to assume, then, that the Sith Empire didn't plan on four lone troopers taking the pad over. Eventually, once all the flames were put out by passing Bespin safety forces, the door seals unlocked, revealing four tired, but mostly uninjured, Republic troopers wearing scarred and dirtied white and blue armour. The 322nd And still, 'Breach,' 'Alo,' 'Rook' and 'Boss' weren't done. They were soon picked up by a Republic transport, but they were informed several minutes into the trip it wasn't to go home. Instead, their target was the Sith flagship. It turned out the 'weakness' was actually a heavily defended choke point, intended to fool the Republic into sending their strongest forces into the breach to be gunned down like nothing. Only the Jedi Knight survived, and he was being held captive aboard the flagship. For all intents and purposes, the four Republic heroes were now ghosts, especially after that climactic explosion seen from space. The upcoming assault on the flagship was the first and last public knowledge of the 322nd 'Ghost' squad, until it would later become the most elite Spec. Ops. squad within the Republic's forces. Once the shuttle bypassed the space battle and made its way to the flagship's opening, the squad was equipped with some heavier duty weaponry. The only four surviving members of the Republic's suicide squad were now the 322nd Marine Division, and Bespin's last hope. Sajinn was equipped with the highest class Disruptor rifle available, as well as a cloaking device to move without notice. Orphas requisitioned a high-powered E-11 blaster carbine and several thermal detonators. Aloysius was given full access to available technical resources, and equipped himself with several field use bacta canisters. And Eros was well aware of his act saving all four of them, and what exactly did it. So, when given the chance at the Republic's vast array of armaments, it was no surprise his hands automatically grabbed the rocket launcher, every explosive he could carry, and a T-21 rifle. Once they entered the ship, they were attacked. The transport wasn't exactly a stealth fighter, but the 322nd troops weren't exactly unprepared either- As soon as they stepped in, 'Breach' threw a smoke grenade, blinding everyone inside. The Ghost squad activated their heat sensors and moved in, taking down the Sith Empire's ambush forces in one swift movement. When they came to an intersection in the hallways, the four fanned out and filled their respective sides with blasterfire or explosions, and proceeded toward the cell block according to their datapads. Once they reached it, they opened the force shield holding the Jedi in place (ignoring 'Rook's request to blow it open and instead opting to allow Sprague to unlock it manually). It was obvious however, from the moment he was released, the Jedi Knight was going to be of no help whatsoever. He was completely exhausted of power, and his weapon was nowhere to be found. The 322nd were still on their own, and were now carrying around some dead weight to boot. Suddenly, they got a communication from the Republic warship, indicating a full-scale retreat. Apparently, the Sith forces had suddenly increased in ability, and absolutely crushed the fighters in the space battle outside. Now, the squad had to not only get the Jedi back home, and possibly kill a Sith Lord solo... But somehow do it and survive the encounter. "Hm..." muttered one of the group, causing the other three to turn. Sprague smiled behind his helmet, and simply stated "I have a plan." The Flagship It took them almost half an hour of solid combat to reach the bridge, and that was only because they practically ORDERED the Republic Forces to stay and incur several more losses so that they could stop the threat of another battle like this from happening again. Once they did reach the bridge, they split up- The only one to step through the front door was 'Breach,' covered in a cloud of smoke and blasting every troop he spotted in his heat vision. Once the smoke cleared, the only one that remained was the Sith Lord... And he wasn't at the head of the bridge with his back turned as he was moments before. No, now he was gripping Orphas in the air, and throwing him across the room, slamming him into the wall. He approached slowly, lightsaber igniting a dark crimson. A short, curt "NOW!" echoed over three communicators, and the plan initiated. The Sith spun quickly away from 'Breach' to defend against a suddenly activated auto turret. He barely kept up with each red bolt of plasma, attempting to ricochet it back at its point of origin. Sprague spun out from behind the pillar he was situated from, firing rapidly at the Sith Lord. However, a stray deflected bolt his his blaster, disarming him. Another bolt reflected into the turret, blowing it to smithereens. Which was the sign for 'Rook' to fire a rocket directly at the Lord's turned back. The dark being chuckled darkly, turning and raising his hand as the Force built up within him, sending a Push at the rocket. And his movement was the signal for an invisible 'Boss' to fire his heavy-duty disruptor at the detonator strapped to the rocket, which the Sith Lord noticed only too late was attached to the side now directly in front of his face. It didn't kill him though- No, that was reserved as revenge for the Republic Trooper now raising an E-11 carbine and filling the Sith's chest and head full of heated, searing holes from the doorway of the bridge. All four of the 322nd surrounded the Sith Lord, silent at the tattered corpse's state. As planned, the former Navy pilot among them moved to the control panel, while the engineer took up several different positions in the control bay and the sniper took up the navigational maps, plotting the hyperspace coordinates for Coruscant. 'Rook,' meanwhile, tittered in glee as he fired the explosive rounds of the T-21 rifle over and over and over at the Sith corpses until nothing remained by scorch marks and sleek durasteel covered in cloth. Debriefing Four Republic Troops left Coruscant, the suicide division of the Republic intended for three Jedi to intercept and halt the attack of the Sith, at least temporarily. Four Republic Troops returned to Coruscant heroes, bringing the single surviving Jedi to the medics and the body of the Sith Lord being dragged around in a duffel bag behind Rook. They were led into the capital building, and led up onto the podium in front of countless citizens of the Galactic Republic, as well as their fellow brothers in arms who just a few hours ago were bidding them their final goodbyes. Being first in line, Orphas James was called to the podium, to give the debrief. He began slowly, trying desperately to recount the events leading up to their current position. However, once he hit his stride, he explained dutifully exactly how they survived the blast while killing the elite squad, how each man's individual skills are what pushed them from the suicide squad to the now planet-respected 322nd Marine Division. By the time Breach began explaining the plan Sprague had come up with, the crowd was enraptured, with slight cheers breaking out at various points until they all went silent as he explained the arduous process the three faced bringing the Sith flagship into Coruscant with only four people. It was then the Supreme Chancellor took the stage, announcing that from this point onward, the 322nd Marine Division was an official squad of the Republic army. And, because of this, would be assigned a ship to move from system to system in. And, what better than the ship they requisitioned themselves? Within several days, the newly titled Vigilant, former Sith flagship and now moving base of the 322nd, was christened and set out from Coruscant again. By technicality due to the debriefing, Orphas James had been granted the rank of Major, but when it came to decisions he would often turn to Staff Sergeant Mass'ii for advice, being more of a natural leader. Aloysius was granted the rank of Captain, and Eros the rank of Lieutenant. Within days, the ranks of the 322nd filled with highly trained or natural recruits, and they executed many successful operations within the first month of active duty. This gave them the well-earned mark of respect that would last in their name for hundreds of years to come. Category:Organizations